October, 18, 2013 World’s first square wine bottle released

(TDB) - California producer Truett-Hurst has launched the world’s first wine range housed in square bottles. Called California Square, the trio’s packaging was designed by Kevin Shaw of forward thinking drinks packaging design firm Stranger & Stranger. The design’s squ...

October, 18, 2013 French government's cellar to mirror weaker economy

(Decanter) - The French government is seeking to reflect austere times by restocking the national cellar with more modest wines, but decanter.com understands there are still plenty of rare bottles on the shelves. Six months after an auction of wines from the cellar raised nearly EUR720,000 (US...

October, 18, 2013 Making Sense of Wine Scents

(WSJ) - A FEW YEARS AFTER I embarked on a career as a wine critic, I found myself in the cellars of a fairly well-known Bordeaux producer. My wife and I were on holiday and I had surreptitiously scheduled an afternoon appointment at a château not far from Saint-Émilion. The only ...

October, 18, 2013 TPG Co-founder Bill Price Makes Great Wine You Can't Buy

(Forbes) - There’s a great joy in creating a product outdoors in one of the most beautiful places in the world,” says Bill Price, a onetime private equity hawk turned stealth wine mogul. “This morning I was out in a vineyard to see if we were ready to pick, and the fog was burn...

October, 17, 2013 Napa’s ‘less is more’ Pinot Noirs

(TDB) - Following a recent St. Helena Star and Napa Valley Vintners Tasting Panel review of 21 Pinot Noirs from the 2009 to 2012 vintages, numerous panelists noted a desire to see more Pinot Noirs with less: less extraction, less alcohol, less oak-influenced flavours. In fact, in annual vintage ...

October, 17, 2013 US: 7-Eleven to sell upscale wines in some stores

(USAToday) - To attract more affluent customers, the convenience store chain where many folks stop for the likes of bargain beer and two-for-one chips has begun to sell upscale wines. Chez 7-Eleven? Well, not exactly. But the nation's biggest convenience store chain, perhaps best-known as a...

October, 17, 2013 China opens the largest château in Asia

(TDB) - Changyu Pioneer Wine Co, China’s oldest wine company and largest winemaker by sales, opened a new chateau in Shaanxi province on Oct 9, according to China Daily. The 600 million yuan (£61.3million) Château Changyu Reina covers a total area of 73.3 hectares in Weicheng ...

October, 17, 2013 Europe drags on Moet Hennessy Champagne sales

(Decanter) - New figures show weaker demand for Champagne in Europe has weighed on Moet Hennessy and its owner, LVMH, in the firms' financial year-to-date, but the groups are optimistic for the 2013 harvest. The pace of Champagne sales growth at Moet Hennessy has slowed in 2013, with volumes...